Short-Circuit Calculation Methods

By Massimo Mitolo, Ph.D., Chu & Gassman Consulting Engineers

Oct 1, 2004 12:00 PM

The task may seem overwhelming at first, but following a methodical step-by-step
procedure can keep you from getting tripped up

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All electrical systems are susceptible to

short circuits and the abnormal current
levels they create. These currents can
produce considerable thermal and
mechanical stresses in electrical
distribution equipment. Therefore, it's
important to protect personnel and
equipment by calculating short-circuit currents during system upgrade and design.
Because these calculations are life-safety related, they're mandated by 110.9 of the
NEC, which states:

“Equipment intended to interrupt current at fault levels shall have an interrupting

rating sufficient for the nominal circuit voltage and the current that is available at the
line terminals of the equipment. Equipment intended to interrupt current at other than
fault levels shall have an interrupting rating at nominal circuit voltage sufficient for
the current that must be interrupted.”

When you apply these requirements to a circuit breaker, you must calculate the
maximum 3-phase fault current the breaker will be required to interrupt. This current
can be defined as the short-circuit current available at the terminals of the protective
device.

You can assume that 3-phase short circuits are “bolted,” or have no impedance. In
addition, a 3-phase short circuit can be considered a balanced load, which means you
can use a single-phase circuit to analyze one of the phases and the neutral.

Distribution equipment, such as circuit breakers, fuses, switchgear, and MCCs, have
interrupting or withstand ratings defined as the maximum rms values of symmetrical
current. A circuit breaker can't interrupt a circuit at the instant of inception of a short.
Instead, due to the relay time delay and breaker contact parting time, it will interrupt
the current after a period of five to eight cycles, by which time the DC component
will have decayed to nearly zero and the fault will be virtually symmetrical.

Closing a breaker against an existing fault makes it possible to intercept the peak of
the asymmetrical short-circuit current, which is greater than the rms value of the
symmetrical current. For this reason, equipment is also tested at a particular test X/R
ratio value typical to a particular electrical apparatus, such as switchgear,
switchboards, or circuit breakers, and is designed and rated to withstand and/or close
and latch the peak asymmetrical current described above.

Fault analysis is required to calculate and compare symmetrical and asymmetrical

current values in order to select a protective device to adequately protect a piece of
electrical distribution equipment.

Methods of calculation. Rather than using a theoretical approach to determine short-

circuit currents, published standards offer methods to compute a symmetrical steady
state solution to which you can apply a multiplier in order to obtain the peak value of
an asymmetrical current. The result is precise enough to fall within an acceptable
tolerance to meet NEC requirements.

The classical approach and the method defined by ANSI/IEEE are two such industry-
accepted methods for
calculating short circuits.
Both methods assume that
the fault impedance is zero
(bolted short circuit) and the
pre-fault voltage is constant
during the evolution of the
fault. In actuality, the fault
has its own impedance, and
the voltage drop, due to the
short-circuit current, lowers
the driving voltage.

The classical approach is

This over-simplified one-line diagram of a power
used to calculate the
distribution system included values necessary for
Thevenin equivalent
working through the two methods of short-circuit
impedance as “seen” by the
calculation referred to in the text.
system at the point of the fault. Thevenin impedance is
defined as the impedance seen at any point in a circuit
once all the voltage generators have been short circuited
and all the current generators have been opened.
Transformer and utility impedances and rotating
machine subtransient reactances describe all possible
contributions to a short circuit. Once we have calculated
the symmetrical and peak duties, we can determine the
required rating of the protective device by direct
comparison to manufacturer equipment ratings.

The ANSI/IEEE method, which is described in IEEE

Std. C37.010-1979 and its revision in 1999, is used for
high-voltage (above 100V) equipment. It calls for
determining the momentary network fault impedance,
which makes it possible to calculate the close and latch
rating of the breaker. It also calls for identifying the
interrupting network fault impedance, which makes it
The ANSI/IEEE short-
circuit calculation method
follows a step-by-step
process.
possible to calculate the interrupting duty of the breaker. The interrupting network
fault impedance value differs from the momentary network fault impedance value in
that the impedance increases from the subtransient to transient level.

The IEEE standard permits the exclusion of all 3-phase induction motors below 50 hp
and all single-phase motors. Hence, no reactance adjustment is needed for these
motors. The Chart at right clarifies the ANSI/IEEE procedure.

Classical calculation. Begin by converting all impedances to “per unit” values. Per
unit base values and formulae used are as follows:

Sbase =100MVA

Vbase =26.4 kV

Let's run through an example calculation to make this discussion a little more
tangible. Refer to the one-line diagram in the Figure above with the following input
data:

• Utility: 26.4kV, 1,200MVA, X/R=41

• Transformer (T1): 2MVA, 26.4/4.16kV, DY-G, Z=7%, X/R515
• Motor 1 (M1): Induction, 4.16kV, 1,000 hp, PF=0.8, efficiency50.8, X"d= 0.16
pu, X/R=28
• Motor 2 (M2): Induction, 4.16kV, 49 hp, PF=0.8, efficiency=0.8, X"d=0.17 pu,
X/R=10
Now it's possible to calculate the equivalent Thevenin impedance for a fault at Bus 2
by combining the per unit X and R values to obtain the relative impedances.

ZFault=(Zutility+ZT1)||ZMotor1||ZMotor2=(0.0021+j0.083+0.005+j0.07)||(0.49+j13.8)||
(29.8+j298)=0.166+j2.817 pu=2.823ej86.6

We may now calculate the short-circuit current rms at Bus 2:

The peak duty the breaker is required to close and latch may be evaluated using the
following formula, which constitutes a multiplier to the rms current, which was
calculated above:

Use Table 1, page 1 in ANSI C37.06-1997 Preferred Ratings and Related Required
Capabilities to rate new switchgear. It's useful in comparing calculated duty (4,916A
and 12,692A) and standard ratings. The Table includes sample values extracted from
the ANSI table.

These are the short-circuit

current ratings required for
our switchgear duty
Compare calculated duty and standard ratings using
corresponding to a
Table 1 in ANSI C37.06-1997.
continuous current, for example, 1,200A. No further steps have to be taken, as the
table itself, by comparison, provides the required specifications for the equipment to
be installed.

ANSI/IEEE calculation. The ANSI/IEEE calculation method is based on the same

per unit quantities as calculated before. However, it differs from the classical method
because it makes it possible to study two separate circuits derived from the original
one: one resistive only and one reactive only. This will be carried out for both
momentary and interrupting network fault impedances.

For each network, Thevenin equivalent resistance and Thevenin equivalent reactance
will then be combined in order to obtain the equivalent Thevenin impedance. This is
the significant difference between the ANSI/IEEE procedure and the classical
calculation method.

As mentioned before, the momentary network fault impedance is based on the

subtransient reactances of the rotating machines, which allows for the calculation of
the first-cycle peak fault duty. The total fault resistance and reactance values will be
calculated separately, following the same formula as the ZFault equation in the classical
calculation section, except the Zs must be replaced with the Rs and Xs.

Then they'll be combined as total fault impedance ZFault, which will yield ISC3-phase and
IPeak according to the formulas.

The interrupting network fault impedance is based on individual equipment transient

reactances. In the previous example, only the reactance of Motor 1 needs to be
adjusted. It's acceptable to neglect Motor 2 at medium voltage levels. The resistances
of the network, in fact, don't vary with respect to time. ANSI C37.010-1999 identifies
the adjustment factor as 1.5.

In this case, the total fault resistance and fault reactance (with adjustments) will be
calculated separately as already seen.

ISC3-phase, symmetrical duty is calculated as it was in the classical method. However, it's
typically characterized by a smaller magnitude because the Zfault “interrupting” current
is larger than the one in the momentary network calculation.

ISC3-phase is essential because a multiplier factor is applied to this quantity for

comparison to the breaker interrupting rating.

This multiplier will account for:

• The additive contribution of the DC current component, which might still be

“alive” after the time of contact parting.
• The eventual subtractive contribution of the AC current decay, due to the
evolution of the reactances toward larger values. This effect is possible when
the generation of power is local.
The multipliers, in function
of time of contact parting and
of the ratio X/R at the point
of fault, are described in
curves starting from figure
A-8, page 60, C37.010-1999
(Figure).

Once ISC3-phase has been

multiplied by this factor
(between 1 and 1.25), you Multipliers necessary for one short-circuit calculation
have the minimum rating of method are shown in ANSI C37.010-1999.
your equipment. As in the classical method, you can also use Table 1, page 1 in ANSI
C37.06-1997 to determine a standard rating.

Which method is better? Both methods basically provide the same results. There are
no theoretical reasons to prefer one to the other, only practical reasons. The
ANSI/IEEE approach is the evolution of a method conceived in the '70s in the United
States, when no computer-assisted calculations were available. ANSI/IEEE C37.010-
1999 can only be used at medium or high voltages and only at 60 Hz. Calculation
programs have been developed to determine fault currents that apply the multiplier
factors called for in this standard. In fact, some clients may ask for the application of
this calculation methodology by contract. Manufacturers may also recall the
ANSI/IEEE standard in their catalogues. The classical method is used mainly in low-
voltage studies and can also be applied at 50 Hz. It's a well-known procedure because
it's a common topic in every “power system” college course.